Soft boards, loose rail. Start with the rule for your own city, then the checklist.
The rule where you are, with the code section and the date we checked it.
Fort Lauderdale measures every waterway yard from the wet face of the seawall. A deck at or below the ground-floor level needs no setback at all, a ra
Miami Beach · Miami-DadeMiami Beach's single-family rules set pool decks and platforms 6 ft from the rear line (pool water 7.5 ft), but where the lot abuts a bay or canal the
Boca Raton · Palm BeachOn a Boca Raton lot that adjoins a waterway with a seawall, uncovered patios, terraces and pool decks may run right up to the seawall. A pool itself m
Hollywood · BrowardHollywood caps decks and screen enclosures at 30 inches above grade and sets decks 13 ft from the rear line, but when the yard is adjacent to water th
Delray Beach · Palm BeachDelray Beach treats an uncovered patio or walkway under 3 ft tall as a site improvement that must stay 5 ft from every property line, including the re
Jupiter · Palm BeachJupiter defines a patio as a wood deck or concrete slab with no permanent roof, and sets it back 7.5 ft from the rear and interior side lot lines of a
Coral Gables · Miami-DadeCoral Gables requires no rear setback for a deck on waterfront property, but a deck may never project over the waterway or beyond the property line, a
Key Biscayne · Miami-DadeKey Biscayne's single-family code sets decks 5 ft from any lot line but allows a zero rear setback on waterfront properties. The 25 ft strip along any
Deerfield Beach · BrowardDeerfield Beach lets at-grade decking, pavers and poured patios run to a waterfront property line in every district. Raised accessory structures are d
Dania Beach · BrowardDania Beach drops the pool and pool deck setback to zero on a rear lot line abutting a canal or waterway, but nothing may be built beyond the bulkhead
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea · BrowardLauderdale-By-The-Sea allows a deck on a waterway lot to run to the waterway, with a gap to the dock allowed if secured. The catch: any part of a deck
Bay Harbor Islands · Miami-DadeBay Harbor Islands lets a pool sit on the water side of a waterfront lot only if it is no more than 2 ft above finish grade and at least 5 ft from the
Bal Harbour · Miami-DadeOn Bal Harbour lots fronting Indian Creek or Biscayne Bay, pools sit at least 20 ft from the outer face of the seawall, or farther if the tiebacks rea
Palm Beach Gardens · Palm BeachPalm Beach Gardens does not count a paved patio or deck toward yards or lot coverage if it is unroofed, unenclosed and no more than 6 inches above sur
Boynton Beach · Palm BeachBoynton Beach scales deck setbacks to height: an uncovered deck or patio no more than 1 ft high keeps 2 ft from every property line, one up to 3 ft hi
Highland Beach · Palm BeachHighland Beach lets waterfront patios and walkways run up to the property line or seawall, whichever is further landward, as long as drainage stays on
Marathon · MonroeMarathon's water-resource buffer table puts houses 20 ft from mean high water on canal lots (10 ft on lots under 4,500 sq ft) and accessory structures
Islamorada · MonroeIslamorada lets elevated decks, pavers, open gazebos up to 15 ft and pools with their decks into the canal-lot shoreline setback if they keep 10 ft fr
Wilton Manors · BrowardWilton Manors sets decks 3 ft from front, side and rear lot lines, measured to the edge of the decking; pools are 5 ft (to the water's edge) and scree
Hillsboro Beach · BrowardHillsboro Beach keeps buildings and pools 15 ft back from the easterly right-of-way line of the Intracoastal Waterway (or from a seawall built east of
North Bay Village · Miami-DadeNorth Bay Village's RS-1 district has a 20 ft waterfront setback. Ground-level patios and terraces may push only 18 inches into a side or rear setback
Golden Beach · Miami-DadeGolden Beach lets walkways, patios, terraces and platforms come within 36 inches of side and rear lot lines in Zones Two and Three; Zone Three is the
Miami Shores · Miami-DadeMiami Shores Village has a 15 ft shoreline setback for accessory structures, and anything permitted inside it needs planning and zoning board site pla
Ocean Ridge · Palm BeachOcean Ridge sets uncovered decks, patios, steps and terraces 5 ft from property and right-of-way lines, but waives that setback for the part that abut
Gulf Stream · Palm BeachGulf Stream treats decks and patios more than 8 inches above grade, and in-ground pools, as minor accessory structures that must stay 20 ft from a wat
Manalapan · Palm BeachManalapan keeps structures 25 ft back from any seawall, bulkhead line, fill line or mean high water line of Lake Worth on the west side of A1A. Pool d
Riviera Beach · Palm BeachRiviera Beach normally keeps pool decks, platforms and screen enclosures 7 ft from the rear line, but when the lot abuts a body of water the pool deck
Lantana · Palm BeachLantana sets a 20 ft setback from the high water line or the existing seawall, whichever is greater, for aboveground structures on Lake Worth lots. A
Lake Worth Beach · Palm BeachLake Worth Beach lets an at-grade deck or patio built with a pool come within 1 ft of any property line, while a raised pool deck must meet the distri
Key Colony Beach · MonroeKey Colony Beach lets accessory structures occupy up to 60% of the principal shoreline setback along manmade canals, including the first 10 ft from me
The rule that applies across the whole county, and where the cities inside it depart from it.
Broward is the only one of the four counties we cover with a countywide seawall standard, and the number most people quote is the wrong one.
Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade works the opposite way to Broward. The county runs the environmental permit through Chapter 24, but it sets no countywide seawall
Palm Beach CountyPalm Beach is the hardest of the four counties to get a straight answer in. Broward has a county standard its cities were required to adopt;
Monroe CountyMonroe is the only county of the four where we can say with certainty that no elevation standard exists, because we read every mention of se
Which agencies are involved, what they want, and the order they want it in.
Permits, agencies and the order they go in, for Broward.
Regional guidePermits, agencies and the order they go in, for Miami-Dade.
Regional guidePermits, agencies and the order they go in, for Palm Beach.
Regional guidePermits, agencies and the order they go in, for Florida Keys.
The parts that fail first on salt water, where to look, and what it means when you find one. Twenty minutes with a torch and a screwdriver.
A screening aid for owners, not a structural inspection.
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